New Delhi [India] : Ahead of the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls, women top the agenda for Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi. After the announcement of giving 40 per cent tickets to women, Priyanka Gandhi has made several promises to cater to half of the population i.e. women voters. Congress is preparing in a big way to fulfil Priyanka Gandhi’s agenda for women in UP. Acting on the agenda, Priyanka Gandhi will be holding a town hall with women in Lucknow on November 13. According to sources, over 7,500 women workers are being trained as the “Ladki Hoon Brigade”. At the time of announcing 40 per cent of tickets to women, Priyanka Gandhi had given the slogan “Ladki Hun Lad Sakti hun”. Congress is planning to reach five crore women regarding the announcements made for them. Congress is also preparing a separate manifesto for women, major points of which Priyanka Gandhi has already announced. Other than giving 40 per cent tickets to women, Priyanka Gandhi has also promised that if the Congress government is formed in Uttar Pradesh, women will be given three LPG cylinders free of cost annually. She has also promised that women will be given the facility of free travel in government buses of the state, and the girl students there would be given a smartphone and scooty. Other major points announced in the manifesto include an honorarium of Rs 10,000 per month to ASHA and Anganwadi workers, the appointment of women to 40 per cent posts according to the provisions of reservation, offering pension of Rs 1,000 to old widows, and opening of 75 skill schools across Uttar Pradesh which will be named after brave women of Uttar Pradesh. On these promises, the Congress is going to run a public relations campaign on a large scale among women. Apart from focusing on women, Congress is also going to organise 100 town halls after the Congress Pratigya Yatra to make announcements like two million government jobs and loan waiver of farmers to the common people. In these town halls, various sections and issues of the society will be discussed. Congress has been waiting for three decades to return to power in UP. This time the party has thrown full force to achieve it. In-charge Priyanka Gandhi is leading in an aggressive manner on every front. The Congress, which has lost its support base and caste equation in the last elections, is relying on Priyanka’s face and the power of women voters. If you look at Priyanka Gandhi’s UP tours so far, her direct connection with women is visible. That is why Congress feels that women can be influenced by rising above the caste barriers and the party, which is marginalized in the state, can get electoral life.
